Mr Rundle questions the Minister for Education about unsustainable teacher workloads affecting retention and attraction. The Minister acknowledges the issue and outlines initiatives like the red tape review and regional recruitment incentives.

AnsweredQoN 808Legislative Assembly
Asked
7 November 2023
Portfolio
Education

QuestionView source ↗

TEACHERS — FACING THE FACTS: A REVIEW OF PUBLIC
EDUCATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA
808. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Minister for Education:
I have a supplementary question.
Will the minister accept that teaching staff are dealing with workloads that
are at an unsustainable level, which is affecting the retention and attraction
of teaching staff in Western Australia?

AnswerView source ↗

As the member would also know, since
I became a minister, I commissioned the red tape review, which one of my parliamentary secretaries, the member for
Jandakot, has also been involved with. That is to try to reduce unnecessary administrative work for our teachers and our leaders so they can do what they
should be doing, which is teaching our students. The member would also know
that we recently allocated a further $15.4 million to assist more schools in the regions and remote areas with recruitment
and retention of staff. In 2023, the incentive was allocated to 48 regional and remote schools. These schools saw
a significant reduction in teacher resignations by up to 75 per cent, which is
outstanding. It is a challenging area. The member knows this. The member knows
that trying to retain and recruit teachers is a very difficult issue in Western
Australia, in Australia and internationally. When I go to the Education
Ministers Meeting, one of the priorities is always looking at how we can
attract people to the teaching profession
and also retain them. That is why, as I said, one of the measures I initiated was
the red tape review, which will report to me soon. I am sure we can make
significant reductions in administrative duties and tasks for teachers and
other leaders in schools.

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